Ontario Premier Doug Ford says he doesn’t “think it’s fair” that nurses and doctors have to pay for parking at the hospitals and health care facilities they work in , after CTV News Toronto highlighted the issue earlier this week.

On Monday, CTV News Toronto reported on the issue of expensive parking at the hospital after speaking with a Toronto woman who said she spent nearly $2,000 on parking to visit her mother in health care facilities over 15 months.

“It’s just horrible the amount of money I’ve spent on parking since the beginning,” said Michela, who CTV News agreed to identify by her first name only.

The Ontario Nurses’ Association (ONA) and opposition leaders then called on the province to reduce or eliminate hospital parking fees for staff, patients and visitors.

“The current average rate for a monthly parking pass costs around $400. In the Greater Toronto Area, the amount of money spent by staff on parking is extraordinary,” ONA senior vice-president Angela Preocanin told CTV News Toronto. “In my own experience, parking has increased by 200 percent in one year. »

NDP MP Jill Andrew raised the issue in the legislature Wednesday, pointing out how much Michela spent on parking to visit her mother.

“Will you choose people over your profit plan? Properly fund our public hospitals and eliminate hospital parking fees today as a concrete solution to truly help Ontarians get by,” said Andrew.

On Friday, Ford addressed the parking issue, saying that while he found it unfair, he would defer to the hospitals.

“I don’t think it’s fair, but I know the CEOs would be very angry with me because that’s the revenue stream they use to run hospitals, buy equipment and do other things ” Ford said.

“Do I think it’s fair for a nurse to come (to work) and have to pay for parking? I don’t think it’s fair, but I’ll leave that to the hospitals. I’m sure if you ask hospital CEOs, they don’t think it’s fair, but they will also have to get some income.

Ford concluded by saying he was choosing to “side with the nurses and doctors.”

A spokesperson for the Ontario Ministry of Health previously told CTV News Toronto that it does not play a direct role in how a hospital is managed or governed, emphasizing that public hospitals act as independent corporations managed by a board of directors.

“Hospital administrators are responsible for the day-to-day management of their hospitals, including the delivery of services and the implementation of programs, protocols and procedures adopted by the hospital board within the parameters of provincial legislation,” the press release states.

“Hospitals have resources to raise funds for their programs, medical equipment, expansions and renovations, or to improve the quality of health care in their larger communities. These include activities such as fundraising through their foundations, parking revenue, or allocating space to non-hospital services, like food vendors or private clinics.